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Futuristic Problem Of A Water Shotrtage On Earth

rhinefire

rhinefire

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In the not to distant future people of Earth will experience a water shortage. This is a fact. In the worst case scenario it could produce deplorable acts of nations against nations and neighbors against neighbors never before witnessed in history. There could be solutions involving mass extermination certainly of nonessential animals and if extreme enough, humans. These decisions would be most likely made by several governments of the world. This obviously will be our darkest hour but survival is never pretty. Some suggestions could be the first to go would be the elderly however defined. Another would be mass sterilization of men and women. So pretending this nightmare scenario came to pass what would you personally offer as a solution or a course of action. Note, water rationing will be of no help.
 
A bit of impossible. There is literally water everywhere. In fact, if we want more than the trillions of gallons here on Earth, space is full of it as well. Water is very much a renewable resource.
 
rhinefire said:
In the not to distant future people of Earth will experience a water shortage. This is a fact. In the worst case scenario it could produce deplorable acts of nations against nations and neighbors against neighbors never before witnessed in history. There could be solutions involving mass extermination certainly of nonessential animals and if extreme enough, humans. These decisions would be most likely made by several governments of the world. This obviously will be our darkest hour but survival is never pretty. Some suggestions could be the first to go would be the elderly however defined. Another would be mass sterilization of men and women. So pretending this nightmare scenario came to pass what would you personally offer as a solution or a course of action. Note, water rationing will be of no help.
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didnt obama just find the largest supply of fresh water [more than all the oceans] underground?

he is indeed a man for all seasons. politician, scientist, babydaddy..
now he needs to get cracking on how to retrieve said water.

[but i put a gallon jug in my freezer just in case]...
 
Water desalination.
 
dune_sandworms-500x340.jpg

the spice must flow.
 
clownboy said:
A bit of impossible. There is literally water everywhere. In fact, if we want more than the trillions of gallons here on Earth, space is full of it as well. Water is very much a renewable resource.
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"space"?, "renewable"? Is there anyone here that also is uhm.............not informed of the world water crisis?
 
rhinefire said:
"space"?, "renewable"? Is there anyone here that also is uhm.............not informed of the world water crisis?
Click to expand...

A bit of a chimera and has more to do will use and the pollution resulting than any shortage.

We live on a geologically active planet, available stocks of water will shift location frequently (at least in geological time). However, those stocks don't just go away, get used up.

And yes, space.
 
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rhinefire said:
In the not to distant future people of Earth will experience a water shortage. This is a fact. In the worst case scenario it could produce deplorable acts of nations against nations and neighbors against neighbors never before witnessed in history. There could be solutions involving mass extermination certainly of nonessential animals and if extreme enough, humans. These decisions would be most likely made by several governments of the world. This obviously will be our darkest hour but survival is never pretty. Some suggestions could be the first to go would be the elderly however defined. Another would be mass sterilization of men and women. So pretending this nightmare scenario came to pass what would you personally offer as a solution or a course of action. Note, water rationing will be of no help.
Click to expand...

1 This would be better in the environment section.

2 It's drivel;

The times of increased temperatures since the last ice age which have for about 20% of that time been warmer than now have been wetter than now. The Sahara contains lots of petrified forests which died some 4,000 years ago as the area dried out.

The ability of human civilization to overcome such difficulties is increasing with our technological power. Look for a different dooms day scenario to panic about. This one has no legs.
 
Desalinisation. Water covers 2/3rds of the earths surface. I'm not seeing a global shortage.
 
As already noted: Desalination is far, far more likely than killing the elderly and forced sterilization.

New technologies will likely bring down the costs and energy usage; e.g. WaterFX is developing a solar-powered system that, while still more expensive than current reservoir prices, ought to be significantly cheaper than existing desalination technologies.
 
Buttloadofun said:
didnt obama just find the largest supply of fresh water [more than all the oceans] underground?
Click to expand...
Errrr..... no

A decade-long scientific project indicates that 400 miles underground, there might be H2O trapped in mineral deposits. It has nothing to do with Obama, and it's not a usable source of water.
 
clownboy said:
A bit of a chimera and has more to do will use and the pollution resulting than any shortage.

We live on a geologically active planet, available stocks of water will shift location frequently (at least in geological time). However, those stocks don't just go away, get used up.

And yes, space.
Click to expand...

And now describe for us all your plan to retrieve this space water and should we lie awake at night waiting for the train loads to fly to Earth?
 
Wherever they are, people need water to survive. Not only is the human body 60 percent water, the resource is also essential for producing food, clothing, and computers, moving our waste stream, and keeping us and the environment healthy.

Unfortunately, humans have proved to be inefficient water users. (The average hamburger takes 2,400 liters, or 630 gallons, of water to produce, and many water-intensive crops, such as cotton, are grown in arid regions.)

According to the United Nations, water use has grown at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.

This ain't no joke you geniuses.
 
rhinefire said:
Cant meet the need.
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OK Rev Malthus ;)

It will take time to ramp up desalination, and it won't be cheap, but I doubt it is impossible.


rhinefire said:
Unfortunately, humans have proved to be inefficient water users. (The average hamburger takes 2,400 liters, or 630 gallons, of water to produce, and many water-intensive crops, such as cotton, are grown in arid regions.)
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True. However, as water becomes more expensive, that will impact prices. E.g. hamburgers are cheap now, but if water gets more expensive, the cost of hamburgers will rise faster than foods that use less water, which in turn will reduce red meat consumption.

We saw this when California had its Enron-manufactured energy crisis a few years ago; electricity usage fell quite quickly in response to the swift rise in prices.

I.e. water demand is not static.
 
No shortage of water, there can be shortages of cheap easily accessible, clean fresh water in certain places but globally speaking there is water everywhere, just not always a drop to drink.
 
The problem will be Africa and asia, not europe and north america.
 
rhinefire said:
Cant meet the need.
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Yes it could, easily too. It would also create jobs.

But our masters have to want to do it, which is a different matter altogether.
 
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